GOULBURN OVERDOSES HIGH: STUDY

Goulburn has a higher rate of heroin overdose ambulance callouts than many
other NSW country centres.

A study, by the University of NSW's National Drug and Alcohol Research
Centre, found ambulance officers revived 53 people who had taken a heroin
overdose in the Goulburn area in the two years from July 1997 to June 1999.

During that period paramedics revived 37 people in Queanbeyan and one in
both Yass and Cooma. The study shows that NSW ambulance officers are
reviving about 6000 people a year with an injection of the anti-opiate Narcan.

One of the study's authors, Louisa Degenhardt, said the results were
surprising as it showed heroin overdoses were a problem in regional areas,
and not just big cities.

Ms Degenhardt said some country areas such as Goulburn had call-out rates
higher than the state average. Goulburn, with its population of 21,490, had
a rate of 123.3 compared with Queanbeyan with a population of 28,155 and a
rate of 65.7.

Orange, Wollondilly, Tamworth and Bathurst were worse than Goulburn. Study
results reveal NSW ambulance officers were called to 4500 drug overdoses in
1997-98 and 6000 in 1998-99.